Public health vs. personal rights

KALAMAZOO -- One side sees it as an intrusion of personal rights. The other says its a matter of public health.

When the Michigan Senate voted this month to end smoking in bars and restaurants, the voices on either side of the debate grew more intense. Cara Park, manager at The Corner Bar in Kalamazoo, said patrons have been buzzing about the proposal and how it might affect the smoky bar.

"Everyone's worried about it," she said. "(They ask) 'What are we going to do?'"

Smoking ban stalled in Lansing

By Chris KillianSpecial to the Gazette

KALAMAZOO -- Politics may keep a ban on workplace smoking in Michigan from beginning anytime soon.

In an unexpected move, the Republican-led state Senate earlier this month passed a sweeping ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and public workplaces. On Wednesday, the Democrat-led state House, as it did last year, passed a smoking ban bill, but with exemptions for casinos, cigar bars and other places, by 65-39 vote.

The House and the Senate must agree on what the ban covers before it heads to Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has said she supports a ban.

Exactly what the bill will look like when it arrives on the governor's desk is still up in the air, as the political nature of the legislation begins to rear its head.

Senate leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, has pledged not to take up any ban that makes exceptions for some workplaces.

Democratic House speaker Andy Dillon and other House Democrats argue eliminating the exemptions would place Detroit's three casinos at a disadvantage to Native American-run casinos, which are beyond the reach of state regulation, and cost Michigan's largest city jobs and tax revenues.

Before bars and restaurants need to prepare to make a switch, the Republican-led state Senate and the Democratic-led state House continue to wrangle over the details of a workplace smoking ban. The latest House bill, passed by a 65-39 vote Wednesday, again has exemptions for casinos, bingo halls and other places. The Republican-led Senate has said it won't approve a bill with exemptions.

Meanwhile, local business owners wait -- and debate. Of the estimated 17,000 restaurants and taverns statewide, almost 5,100 have voluntarily gone smoke-free, including about 80 in Kalamazoo, according to Michigan Citizens for SmokeFree Air, a nonprofit organization pushing for smoke-free restaurants and bars across the state.

The statewide total is a 131 percent increase from 1998, according to Andy Deloney, spokesman for the Michigan Restaurant Association, which opposes the ban. Deloney said the MRA believes the increase shows that if patrons want smoke-free environments, business owners will change to meet that need and the state should not step in and force their hand.

But for Linda Vail-Buzas, director and health officer for the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department, it's the health of employees that should be paramount. Citing a 2006 U.S. surgeon general's report that said any level of second-hand smoke is harmful, Vail-Buzas said the Senate's version of the ban "is a good, solid public health move."

"There is still a danger of second-hand smoke, especially for those who are exposed to it every day," she said.

Phil Anglin, who owns the Richland Pub in Richland and the Rhino's Hometown Pub in Plainwell, is well aware of the health risks associated with smoking. One of Anglin's family members quit smoking more than 20 years ago but was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.

Jonathon Gruenke / GazettePhil Anglin owns The Richland Pub in Richland, shown in this photo, and Rhino's Hometown Pub in Plainwell. Although a family member was diagnosed with lung cancer in January, Anglin does not support the state's proposed smoking ban, which is being debated by the Democratic-led state House and the Republican-led state Senate.

Still, Anglin opposes the smoking ban. At his Richland Pub, he paid $15,000 to install a heating/cooling system that also monitors carbon monoxide and helps reduce smoke in the building by drawing in outside air. He said he's uncomfortable with the state telling him what to do with his business and that it may be a slippery slope.
"Where does it end?" he said. "If you don't like chocolate, is that the next thing? ... I think it's bad to go down this road."

Jill McLane Baker / GazetteSteve Blinn owns the Olde Peninsula Brewpub and Harvey's on the Mall, both in downtown Kalamazoo. Blinn wants the state government to approve a ban on workplace smoking. To the left of Blinn, a customer smokes a cigarette.

On the other end of the smoking spectrum is Steve Blinn, who owns Olde Peninsula Brewpub and Harvey's on the Mall, both in downtown Kalamazoo. Harvey's is one of the smokier bars downtown, and Blinn said he supports the proposed ban, mostly to protect the health of himself and his employees.

"We've been in this business for what, 12 years, and it's getting to the point where it's too much of being in it. In here, it's way too smoky at Harvey's. You can buy ventilation systems and all that, but it's hard, the cost of it. People (say), 'Why did my beer go up?' Well, I had to buy a ventilation system."

He would impose a smoking ban on his own, but the economy is bad enough without alienating clients who could go elsewhere and light up.

"I support it now because it's a level playing field," Blinn said. "The whole thing was (people would say), 'If you want to do it, why don't you just do it? You have the right to do that as a business owner.' Well, you do and you don't. Now you start segregating customers. I don't think it would've had much of an effect at the brewpub, but for Harvey's? Can you imagine saying a young-adult bar is smoke-free when everyone else around you isn't?

"I wish at Harvey's we could be smoke-free, but I don't know what the outcome would've been."

One facet of the ban that needs to be cleared up is whether outdoor areas, such as the deck at Harvey's, will be included. Blinn said he guessed it would and he'd enforce it. As for the state overreaching into businesses, Blinn said the government is already involved in food-service standards. In his opinion, the smoking ban is similar to those regulations, he said.

Another point of contention with the smoking ban involves cigar shops such as Dan Woltersom's South Street Cigar Shop. Woltersom is planning to move about 30 feet from his current location to the South Kalamazoo Mall but is wondering what to do with the ban looming. He said if it passes, he'll "probably close."

"It's amazing how you can take a guy who has built his business up for 10 years and shut it down in a day. We're all adults. If you don't want to go somewhere where there's smoke, don't go. If I don't like what's on TV, I know enough to change the channel. It seems like there's more important things to worry about, like $4 gas, than banning cigar smoke," he said.

Smokers and non-smokers weigh in

Questions >> What do you think of the proposed ban? Are you comfortable with the state position? Will the ban hurt the economy?

NON-SMOKERS

Ko Yamamoto, 19

WMU student, Portage

"I think it is a good thing. I don't like going to eat and being forced to be in smoke the whole time -- it's not healthy. I think it will help the economy. I think people who may not go out because of the smoke will go out."

Jeff Guntzuiller, 21

WMU student, Traverse City

"I think it is a good idea. I think it will bring a lot of people out to new places because they are not full of smoke now, and the smokers will still come because they can just go outside. It's not that big of a deal; smokers can just go outside and smoke."

Anastasia Morrow, 23

Social worker, Kalamazoo

"I think the businesses should decide. I think it could be very detrimental to bars and coffee shops. For fine dining and other places where people eat, I think it would be a good change, but not for bars and coffee shops. Overall, I don't think it will hurt businesses."

SMOKERS

Emily Merollis, 20

WMU student, Flint

"I understand people that dislike smoking, but they shouldn't ban it outright. I think they should just have stricter rules for designated smoking areas. Businesses should have the choice to become completely smoke-free or not. I don't think it will hurt businesses overall."

Jorge Deleon, 29

Sales, Holland

"I am opposed to taking any freedoms away from citizens. This is a country of freedom, and when you start putting cages up and marginalizing people it is wrong. When you start down this path, sooner or later you won't be able to drink anywhere, you will only be able to walk on designated walking paths and you will have to have a license to have a baby. It is a complete violation of personal freedoms and it is stupid. They are trying to regulate behavior, and that is wrong. It will hurt businesses."

Erik Triestram, 24

KVCC student, Kalamazoo

"I don't like the ban. Smoking and bars go together. I can see banning smoking in restaurants, but not in bars. It should be up to the owner of the business to decide whether or not to allow smoking. If the ban is across the board, I don't think it will hurt the economy at all."